Suspected Islamists kill at least 20 people in eastern Congo attacks

BENI, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – Suspected Islamists killed at least 20 civilians in attacks on Sunday and Monday in Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province, a local official and a local rights group said.

The attackers were believed to be members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the sources said. The ADF is a Ugandan militia that has been active in eastern Congo since the 1990s and has killed scores of civilians in village raids.

“The situation remains tense in Mangusu, an area two kilometres (1.24 miles) from Komanda. The enemy killed 17 civilians there before burning down houses and looting many of the residents’ belongings,” said Moise Ucini, a representative of the governor in Komanda, on Monday.

The assailants also killed three people in the nearby localities of Shauri Moya and Machwalo on Sunday, he said.

Congo declared a state of siege last year over the worsening bloodshed in Ituri and North Kivu provinces. Uganda sent more than 1,000 troops to Congo in December to undertake joint operations against the ADF.

“We have a remarkable military presence here but it’s doing absolutely nothing because every day our brothers and sisters are killed by armed men,” said Gili Gotabo, president of the Irumu territory civil society group, which monitors killings.

Congolese army spokesman Jules Ngongo confirmed the attack but did not give a death toll.

“We are in the midst of fighting the assailants who killed our compatriots not far from Komanda,” he said. “The troops are seriously committed to putting an end to this affair.”

(Reporting by Erikas Mwisi Kambale; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Hugh Lawson)